Nothing Lasts Forever
by Mocking Cat
Summary: Do you ever think about the things you've forgotten about? Or are you unable to, because you forgot? My entry for Writer of Worlds' contest.


**This is my attempt at the sadfic contest. Hope y'all enjoy.**

 ***Disclaimer: I only own the OC/Narrator**

Smash is where you settle things. Where you let your painful memories ebb away with the fading glow of the acquired Smash Ball. You tear through your enemies. Where you bathe in the glory of success.

But for me, it's a time where I resort to a haven where my sadness still treads alongside me. It's a painful feeling that nobody else feels. It hurts.

When people forget about former glories. It only happens when said glory is replaced with something… more glorious.

This was the case with Melee. I hope someone else out there remembers Melee. I played, I fought, I made friends.

But it's gone. It's all gone.

Why did they take it away?

No, they didn't take it away, actually. They left it to rot. All the characters, they simply pick up their feet and move on, leaving the bright colors of the stages to slowly bleed away.

All of the bright landscapes crumbled into the abyss. The Pokemon held there withered and died inside their capsules, waiting for their trainers.

..But they never came back.

Years went by, and life became completely unstable in Melee, as the demand moved on, from it to the new generation, Brawl.

Melee exists now, only in my memories. Not bad ones, but sweet and nostalgic ones.

But something happened, not long ago.

I fell asleep, and went back to that haven again. I dreamed of it.

I dreamed I fell through the world, and landed in Melee- no, I landed in what was _left_ of it.

I fell onto the only stage remaining, the Fountain of Dreams. The fountain's water had frozen and no longer glowed the beautiful neon colors like it did in the past- it was just a cold, gray solid. The fountain's large basin was crumbling to dust, the plants behind it were just a heap of withered, brown matter. Small bits of a snow-like substance fluttered down from the night sky.

My legs shuddered and gave out, as I fell to my knees and my hands hit the fountain's dark basin. The snow tickled my hair.

I didn't realize how cold it was until I began to tear, and instead of the drops falling- they flash froze to the surface my eyes.

I wanted to scream, but I couldn't say anything. I trembled as my hands moved up to my face, tearing away the icicles from my eyes. The snow was beginning to falter a bit, warming things a little.

Suddenly, I heard a noise. Barely noticeable, but it was there.

A tiny mouselike yellow animal jumped out from behind the fountain.

"Pichu," I breathed. "Oh, Pichu."

"Pii…" it squeaked. It steadied itself on its hind legs and staggered across the snow. The poor Pokemon looked frozen solid, crystals of ice forming on its notched ears. The creature was weak. It couldn't create electricity anymore.

It was sad.

Pichu loses his footing and faceplants in the powder, and the colors had drained from his face, as he winced from the pain, tears springing up. He pushed his face up and crawled towards me, slowly. He stopped at my feet, and put his paws up. I carefully scoop him up, and touch his fur.

It's ice cold, and there's no traces of static or electricity. He curls into a tight ball and buries his face in my shirt. I hold him close to my heart, hoping my heartbeat will keep him warm.

Suddenly someone coughed. I jumped and turned to the source of the noise, a large bush that had fallen over the fountain's star-shaped crest, creating an overhang.

I ran to it, still holding the Pokemon tightly to my chest.

"H..hello..?" I manage slowly.

For a few moments the fountain is completely silent. At first I think that the cough was just my imagination becoming delirious, due to the cold.

"Is.. someone.. out there…?"

There was no doubt now, there was someone else here. I walked to the crest, and looked past it.

There were two boys sitting underneath the fallen foliage, taking refuge from the cold. One was taller than the other, with dark red hair, blue armor, and an intricate gold blade. The other boy was a carbon copy of Link, but smaller. I recognized them immediately.

"Roy… Young Link.. oh my God, I'm so glad you're ok."

"Julia..?" Young Link asked carefully.

"Yeah.." I responded.

"...I'm scared."

"Young Link? You? Scared?" I tried to lighten the mood by uttering a laugh, but that was for naught, as he held his head down with a piteous look. He had every right to be scared.

This was probably the last night they'd ever live.

I looked at the pair, and it looked like all of their color and magic had left them. Roy's red hair was darker than it should be, and his armor was rusty. His sword was breaking, like glass.

Young Link was no better. His tunic was torn and covered with a thin film of frost. Blood ran from a gash on his calf.

"Where'd you get that cut?" I asked.

"A piece of the ceiling.. fell. Roy took it out."

My attention turned back to the red-haired boy.

"How are you doing?"

"I'm ok." Roy breathed, his voice raspy.

"Julia," Young Link started. "Will we be able to go home?"

I pondered for a long moment, I didn't know what to tell him. I didn't know to tell him that the three were reaching the end of their lives.

"I don't know. I'm sorry."

"But-"

Pichu drew in a long, heavy breath, still in my arms.

"But, I wanna go back to Hyrule, I miss home." His pitch was inclining, as if he was going to cry.

"I know, Young. I know."

"Wh-y'd they a-all leave us here?" Young choked on his own words.

"…" I was quiet for a long moment. "...I don't know."

Young let out a long sigh.

Roy was sitting with his arms crossed as he shuffled a bit closer to the three of us. I could tell from his pleading eyes that he wanted to advance to Brawl.

I opened my mouth to speak again, but he beat me to it.

"You don't have to flatter us." Roy's voice quivered. "We're not going home, are we?"

"D-don't say that!" I stammered. But I knew deep down that it was right. Their world was already almost completely gone.

I looked at Roy. It was almost terrifying, looking at him. He was a mere ghost of who he once was. His hair was a darker red, almost the color of blood, unlike the blazing fire-red it once was. His skin was light, and his eyes were glassy and only showed meak emotion.

My long pause confirmed the worst for Roy. He shook his head, turning back to hold the fragments of his blade.

"..How's Pichu doing there?"

"Oh, he's okay. I thought about-"

I paused in my sentence, stroking the Pokemon. His fur was still. The shallow breathing had stopped. I frowned, and stroked the Pokemon again. I shook him lightly, and put my cheek against his tiny chest.

"He's-" I was barely whispering. Both Roy and Young looked at me with wide eyes.

"He's not breathing," I choked on my own words. My face was hot. "He's not breathing!"

I felt my tears coming down.

I wanted to not cry, but I didn't want to make the situation worse. But my eyes still stung as I held back the tears. I couldn't stop it, the tears ran, and I went down to my knees, setting the motionless Pokemon carefully in the snow-covered basin.

"I couldn't save you, I'm so sorry." I whispered, tearfully, to the baby Pokemon's body.

I feel a cold hand rest on my shoulder, and turn to see Roy looking at me. He pulls me close, giving me a light hug.

"I'm so sorry. I know how much he meant to you."

It was true. I had spent so much time with Pichu, in the pastime. He was everyone's pet.

"...This wasn't your fault, Julia. Pichu didn't die because of you."

"..Oh?" After about a minute, I calmed down, looking at my two friends.

"I have an idea."

They both perked up a little at this. "Really?" Young asked.

"Yes. I think that you both can be sent back to your own worlds."

They both looked confused. "How is that possible?" Roy asked.

"Young, come here."

Young got onto his feet.

"You've still got your ocarina, right?"

Young nodded, and pulled the little blue instrument out of his pocket.

I grinned. I remembered that there was an Ocarina of Time remake.

"Yes, Young. You can go home."

Young beamed. I held my hand out and he grabbed it. I led him to the edge of the basin, where it grew cold again. His face changed from excitement to fear in a matter of seconds.

"What are you doing?" He asked fearfully.

"I think I know what to do. If you jump into the abyss, your fighter data will be erased and you will be reset back into your home, back near Hyrule. But you need to trust me."

"I don't want to do that!" Young cried out. "What if I don't go home?"

"Young Link, please, trust me."

Young's eyes were wide and fearful. but he soon took an inching step towards the rim of the basin. He looked back at me.

"Will I ever get to see you again?"

I looked down into the abyss, and back, and smiled.

"Yes, you will."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

Young Link rocked his feet, and began to lean out of the basin. He went forward and fell straight down, into the abyss. The enormous pillar of white light shot upwards into the sky, signaling Young's defeat.

I turned back to Roy, his jaws open in surprise.

"Alright, now, let's get you back to Pherae! I hope this works. It did with Young, so-"

"Julia-"

"Shush. What timeline were you born in? I need-"

"Julia, no."

"What do you mean, 'no'?" I asked incredulously."I'm sure your family misses you! You've still got-"

"JULIA!"

"Stop inter-" I began. But my words were cut off as Roy grabbed my shoulders, looking straight at me.

"Stop." He said.

I looked at him. Why was he acting this way? Why did he refuse to.. go.. back.. to his…..

I suddenly remembered. It hit me like a stinging slap to the face.

 _How could I have forgotten?_

I looked at Roy, and he stared back at me with sad eyes.

Sometimes, the real truth hurts.

Roy wasn't born in Fire Emblem.

He was born in Melee.

THIS was his home.

I could understand why this was so hard for him.

He's tied to this place.

But now it's almost completely gone, he can't stay here any longer.

The only way out is by an unplanned death.

But he didn't know this yet.

 _There's only one way out._

I walked to the side of the basin. There was a ridge of broken stone, jutting out from the rim of the basin. I wrapped my hands around it, using all my strength to pull. The shard of metal ripped away from the basin. Where I had torn it away, there was a black surface glittering with white numbers.

01110111 01100001 01110010 01101110 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100000 01100110 01101001 01101100 01100101 00100000 01101111 01100010 01110011 01110100 01110010 01110101 01100011 01110100 01101001 01101111 01101110-

-The system was freaking out, sputtering binary as I held the shard carefully. I walked back to Roy.

"What are yo-"

"Don't move, Roy!" I brandished the gray shard in front of me, pointing to Roy's heart.

He actually looked scared, eyes clouded.

"Why…" He said.

"If I end your life, you may be resurrected in some other universe."

Roy wasn't moving. He breathed heavily and his eyes showed signs of tears.

"Okay." He drew in a long sigh.

He agreed too easily. It made the situation harder for me. My hand holding the gray piece shook.

 _I can't do this. He's just a kid. We're BOTH just kids._

We're both the same age, fresh sixteen. We could've been friends for so much longer.

I shook my head as a more violent stream of tears came down, once again. I cried out as I lunged towards Roy, embracing him tightly.

The shard pierced through his chest and went into his back, completely impaling him. He

immediately cried out in pain.

For a split second, dark red blood laced out of the wound- but the flesh around the shard

began to glitter black and white, and it slowly began to fade.

I continued to hold onto him tightly as his lower body faded away. He held his face in his hands.

"Maybe... this isn't too bad," He said slowly. "It's not like my family will… miss me."

I thought back to all those stories he had told about his friends in Pherae, how they mocked him.

" _He's so weak.."_

" _Lilina can do better.."_

" _Don't tell him he's adopted, though.."_

I hugged him tightly, but he couldn't return it. His arms were gone up to his elbows.

"You're strong, Roy. You are. You represented Pherae, and you were able to keep Young and Pichu safe for all of those years."

Roy looked back at me, his face sorrowful.

"...I'll miss you."

Roy gave me a sad smile. I took out the shard, and he withered a bit faster. I put my hand over the wound.

"Goodbye.…. brother."

Roy's face relaxed and said quietly, "Goodbye."

He was completely gone. The smile on my face died away.

I looked around. The only part of the fountain that was left was only the small middle part of the basin, everything else had fallen away.

 _Time to go._

I walked to the side of the remaining basin and looked into the abyss. It was very dark.

I fell forward, and felt the wind blasting the hair away from my face. I suddenly hit a hard surface and saw a brief flash of light- most likely the pillar-

Suddenly I was back in my kitchen, splayed out across the cold tile floor. The lights were off. I was too tired to move, so I fell back asleep on the tiles.

I woke up, feeling grey.

I had seen so much, and it was sad to know about what had happened in my mind. I remembered Pichu, his lifeless body in the snow, and I prayed that Roy and Young had found their ways.

And to be honest, I don't know if they made it or not.

And if they didn't-

I'm sorry,

Please forgive me.


End file.
